All Severus Asks Of Persephone
by DaniNatureGirl313
Summary: A sort of prequel to my upcoming story, "Overlooked Princess". Not quite a teaser, but really just a set-up for the relationship between her & her father. Once night, shortly after the Potters' murders, Snape tends to his sick child. May or may not pop up again later in my main story, as a revisited memory.


**All Severus Asks of Persephone**

**A/N: I think music can be a great tool to communicate how a character is feeling, so that's why I use it a lot. That includes this, even though the piece used is actually quite small. I'm thinking of creating more song-fics for my main story once it's published, and I'm open to suggestions about that. Message me & let me know, okay? Thanks.**

"I don't understand what's wrong with her", said Natalie Hall, the mother of a very fidgety six-year-old. Rubbing the space between his eyes, Severus set down his copy of _The Daily Prophet_ and walked to the farthest back bedroom. Even though he didn't expect, or even think he wanted this child at first, and though he and her mother were no longer together, he knew he had to do the right thing and just be there. It was something that _his_ father never did, not in a positive way. But he would be different. He wasn't an alcoholic, nor was he abusive. He'd tell this girl he loved her, no matter what. He wasn't going to let another child endure life feeling lonely and unwanted, like he did.

His daughter's name was Persephone. He'd picked the name immediately after a certain spell had revealed the then-unborn child's gender. His love of Greek mythology inspired the choice: the goddess of spring, which was the season of rebirth and renewal…almost of redemption, too, in a way. And that's exactly what she was to him, redemption for all the wrong he'd ever done in his life, a shining star in his dark personal underworld. Leaning against the doorframe, he asked softly, "Now, what seems to be the trouble here?"

As the girl squirmed on her bed, oblivious to being watched, Natalie said, "I think she's sick. She might have an ear infection. Would one of your potions be able to fix it?" "I don't know. I'm not sure of the affects they would have on a person so small. It might be too dangerous." So, he used a non-verbal spell to calm Persephone down emotionally and to help ease her pain. From the corner of his eye, he watched Natalie walk over towards the radio, which was sitting on a nearby shelf, and he recognized the station she changed it to. He'd always be puzzled why she loved listening to "Show Tunes FM" so much, a station that always played songs from major muggle plays. Likely sensing what he was thinking, she gave a tiny half-smile and shrugged, mumbling "I just like it."

A second later, the phone in the living room rang. "I'll get that. It's probably my mum." Once Natalie left the kitchen, Severus was left alone with their daughter. She looked so much like him. "Poor thing", he thought with a bit of sarcasm. Thick, downy-soft black hair fanned out around her head where it rested on the pillow, and her tiny lips had the same pursed-out form as his. Smiling slightly, he muttered, "Thank heavens, you didn't get my nose." She didn't have his eye color, either. No, those light bluish-green irises definitely came from her mother. That phrase "your mother's eyes" repeated in his head and made him wince.

He'd spoken with Albus, pleading for him to protect the great love of his life: Lily…even now, after so many years, he could barely think of her without feeling extremely sad and regretful. His own horrified words echoed in his brain: "It's _her_ son. He intends to hunt them down now, to _kill_ them. _Hide_…Hide them _all_. I _beg_ you." Then, after the dreaded tragedy had actually taken place, the older wizard spoke of the baby boy at center of it all: "He has her eyes." Harry Potter, the symbol of his old rival's final victory…he blinked away the tears that formed in the corners of his vision. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the boy came to Hogwarts, and he was unsure of how he'd deal with that when it happened.

There was so much drama going on around him. But thank goodness, he now had a new light to help guide him through the shadows. A wistful sigh escaped him as he walked over to Persephone's small bed, sitting down on the side of it slowly so as not to disturb her. Another non-verbal spell sent the ill child off into dreamland. He gently petted her hip, one ear tuned to Natalie's phone conversation going on in the living room, and the other ear listening to a piece of the show tune playing on the radio:

_**Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime**_

_**Lead me, save me from my solitude**_

_**Say you want me with you here, beside you**_

_**Anywhere you go, let me go to…**_

He did change one word, though, from "Christine" to "angel", but the principle of the lyrics still stood. As scary as he appeared to so many other people, all he really wanted in life was to be loved. He just knew Persephone was his key to finally getting something right, to really being happy at last. To hear directly from her how much his daughter loved him and wanted him with her would mean more than gold, much more than the power Voldemort offered his Death Eaters. So often in his life, he'd felt unloved and unwanted. Well, no more, thanks to the sleeping child before him. And he'd always be with her, either physically or in her mind and heart, guiding her to her destiny. He twirled a lock of her hair around his index finger, his smile growing just a tiny bit bigger. The Half-Blood Prince really loved his little princess.


End file.
